Physician commended twice for service; UMMC named top employer
Published on Tuesday, September 2, 2025
By: Gary Pettus, gpettus@umc.edu
Medical Center faculty and staff often are recognized regionally, nationally and internationally for their academic or medical achievements. These accolades place UMMC among health science centers worldwide.
Pierre earns separate honors for making a difference
Dr. Ardarian Gilliam Pierre, an assistant professor of family medicine-geriatrics, has received the Excellence in Health Promotion Award from the Mississippi State Medical Association, in addition to Degree of Fellow (FAAFP) from the American Academy of Family Physicians.
The MSMA award recognizes her “outstanding commitment to advancing health and wellness through leadership, advocacy, and community engagement,” the MSMA states. Presented annually, the honor acknowledges unique, effective efforts that have made a difference in the lives of others.
“I am deeply grateful to MSMA for this remarkable honor,” Pierre said. “Living a life of service is truly my dream and passion.”
AAFP Fellow distinction recognizes “members who have distinguished themselves among their colleagues, as well as in their communities, by their service to family medicine, by their advancement of health care to the American people, and by their professional development through medical education and research,” the AAFP’s website states.
“This heart of service flows from God first and then from my parents who personified love for humanity through outreach and community,” Pierre said.
“In the words of Martin Luther King Jr., ‘Everyone can be great, because everyone can serve.’”
A Mississippi native who grew up in the Lee County town of Verona, Pierre decided to become a doctor at young age, inspired by her pediatrician in Tupelo. She earned her medical degree in 2014 at American University of Antigua before completing her family medicine residency at UMMC, as well as a fellowship in geriatrics and gerontology.
The parent of four children, she co-wrote an illustrated children’s book with her friend, Dr. Charlene Collier, a Jackson-area obstetrician-gynecologist who has two children. “Doctor Moms,” published in 2024, aims to teach children about the work of physicians/moms as they balance motherhood and a career in medicine.
Pierre is a member of the AAFP, MSMA, American Geriatric Society, Mississippi Medical and Surgical Association, Group on Women in Medicine and Science, and Mississippi Academy of Family Physicians.
Medical Center makes Forbes’ Best In-State list
The University of Mississippi Medical Center is one of the hospitals/health systems named to Forbes magazine’s 2025 list of America’s Best In-State Employers released in August.
Forbes developed the list in partnership with Statista, a market research firm which canvassed more than 160,000 employees from organizations with at least 500 workers based in the U.S. Those who responded rated their employers with these criteria in mind: culture, career pathways and wages.
Survey respondents, representing all 50 states and the District of Columbia, were asked how likely they were to recommend their employer on a scale of zero to 10.
UMMC, one of the largest employers in Mississippi, has more than 10,000 full- and part-time employees. The state’s only academic medical center, it enrolls more than 3,000 students in six health sciences schools.
“This recognition is especially meaningful because it comes from the feedback of employees themselves,” said Frank Lenior, UMMC chief human resources officer. “It tells us we’re making progress in creating the type of workplace people want to be a part of.”
UMMC is among the more than 300 hospitals and health systems recognized. Those listed by Forbes in at least one state can be found in this article.